Russia has modernized 35 brigades (over 80,000 soldiers) active military combat personnel with new body armor and weapons. Russia calls this equipment Ratnik-2.
Russia is promising to develop Ratnik-3 which would be advanced combat exoskeletons, UAVs and combat robots. The US has also been developing combat exoskeletons. Russia and the USA have had small field tests of some exoskeleton systems.
Russia is displaying mockups of advanced guns, new helmets and more complete body armor.
The main problem for real exoskeletons that boost the weight that a soldier can carry or provide real force multipliers is the batteries and power systems for the gear.
US military research has admitted that it will still be 5-10 years or more before real combat exoskeletons will be produced and deployed.
Commercial exoskeletons are being deployed in warehouses and factories. Soldiers and workers are able to load and move heavier gear and ammo. This makes supply chains more productive behind the lines.
Real combat exoskeletons are research and empty promises.
SOURCES- Tass, Wikipedia
Written By Brian Wang
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
25 thoughts on “Russian Army Has New Body Armor and Promise Combat Exoskeletons”
They only need like 8,000. 5,000 to fight the war with initially and the remaining 3,000 to replace the damaged, destroyed ones as mordern warfare goes through equipment faster than it can be replaced via ordering it from the plant.
Well they could build 100 000 tanks if they really wanted to. Let’s say $5M each? That’s $500 billion. Russia could pull that off over a 10 year period. The economy is what $1T? That’s 5% of GDP for 10 years.
Just that uses up the entire defense budget for 10 years. At the end they have 100 000 tanks, no crews, no army at all, some rust piles at the bottom of the harbour in what used to be navy bases. And the airforce was all sold to India.
Or they double the defense budget to 10% of GDP with all the extra going to tank production. That is World War level defense spending, but Russia has pulled that sort of thing before. It sent them broke before too.
All for show, none of it is real. We use to have to depend on the CIA to hype the Soviet Union military ability. Now “Next Big Future” does it.
Obligatory:
Hmmm…where is Baba Yaga’s Hut stomping on the ‘NATO tanks’ in that pic?
Russian PR goons sure are slipping, it seems. 🙂
Well now we know who you are.
But, but the OTHER igor said production costs in Russia are far, far less than in the West! That it could build hundreds of thousands of Armatas if Moscow really wanted to!
Hahahahhaha!
War games are paid for by US military that wants to get more money from Congress.
In war games Russian weapons actually work, have numbers and qualities dreamed up by Russian propaganda machine.
The treaties actually say no nucs in space. It is a misconception about not weaponizing space.
In war games all the Russian equipment is perfectly operable and includes items that don’t exist in reality or will not be produced in more than a handful. Also who orders the war games, US military does and of course they don’t want to get more new toys.
There are trolls, then there is reality.
A wise man once said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
So true, worked with what I would call saner Russians, and even then 2 out of 3 were so ego driven they were willing to do whatever it took to prove whatever point they were trying to make in every situation. I would laugh it off or have a go at them with sarcasm, somehow they respected that.
The worst i have ever heard was when a Russian Geologist said this:
“So you have homosexual bars, yes?”
“Whay don’t you just barricade them when at popular times and then set on fire?”
That is word for word.
“The Russian military is a joke outside of their nuclear MAD capability. ”
That’s actually what I find scary about them. They don’t have any options between “low level combat” and “Mutually Assured Destruction”. And they’ve got too much ego to admit it.
The Russian military is a joke outside of their nuclear MAD capability. China could probably whip them conventionally and I would definitely take the NATO nations sans the USA as well in a all-out conventional conflict. Russia just does not have the the numbers. NATO sans the US has a Naval and AF that are 2x Russia. It really is MAD or nothing for Russia and they like to bluff in dumb ways.
I used to work with a bunch of Russians in Mongolia, they were the most predictable poker players ever. I could bluff them and call them on their bluffs every time, they all lacked subtlety. Too technical, not art. All I ever did was drink to the point where I was tipsy but in control, play a sort of a controlled erratic way and stay even for a bit, The second I sold them to think I was drunker than I really was, they would get overconfident and they would lose their shit. I rarely play poker, but against them it was taking candy from a baby. So much ego, you could manipulate them so easily. These were MA and PhD level educated Russians too. You had to be at that level to be on the project.
I see the Anti-Russian trolls are out in force again the in comment section. Yes, keep on piccking on Russia , keep on underestimating Russia. This will make the world a better place…
Crazy Russian pompousness is why the USAF needs to put money into the SpaceX Starship as a orbital bomber. Sure we have treaties for not “weaponizing” space. However, since an ICBM already enters LEO, there is obviously nothing against weapons that can temporarily enter LEO. The SpaceX Starship should provide orbital bomber capability that does not violate the treaty since it is not “stationed” in space if it returns after each run. It would likely be the same or cheaper than a B-2 to operate, in terms of operational cost and ordinance capability.
Given that the majority of the equipment Russia posses is essentially inoperable, the most likely scenario in a conventional conflict between the US and Russia would be more akin to the one Russian military experience against the US, which is getting blown to bits in Syria a year or two ago.
The one time Russian troops fought against the US in the last, forever, they got blown to bits in Syria.
Yea, gotta love how these wargames are always portrayed. As if they are actual combat conditions.
More gear, more to worry about. Best to consider for drone warfare. Drone pick out items with electromagnetic signature on the battle field. Done. Bye bye exosuites.
Armata still has technical problems and is unaffordable for Russia.
Russia has no technology for miniaturized force augmentation and dense power sources, electronics etc. Russian Ivan will just run around in heavy armor.
Why couldn’t they deploy them that fast? The cost here is VERY high, but that is just proffit and insurance costs. Most the suit could be made with 3d printers. The passive ones they have designed are nothing more than springs on a cleaver framework. Once you have a working model to work from building them with automation would be easy. And the turnaround time very fast.
Didn’t they ‘demo’ last year some ‘combat robot’ that turned out to be a guy in a suit?
The only thing I believe is real is the Armata tank. What I don’t think is real is Russia being able to manufacture and field the thousands upon thousands of them like they and several trolls on here claim that they can.
They only need like 8,000. 5,000 to fight the war with initially and the remaining 3,000 to replace the damaged, destroyed ones as mordern warfare goes through equipment faster than it can be replaced via ordering it from the plant.
Well they could build 100 000 tanks if they really wanted to. Let’s say $5M each? That’s $500 billion. Russia could pull that off over a 10 year period. The economy is what $1T? That’s 5% of GDP for 10 years.
Just that uses up the entire defense budget for 10 years. At the end they have 100 000 tanks, no crews, no army at all, some rust piles at the bottom of the harbour in what used to be navy bases. And the airforce was all sold to India.
Or they double the defense budget to 10% of GDP with all the extra going to tank production. That is World War level defense spending, but Russia has pulled that sort of thing before. It sent them broke before too.
All for show, none of it is real. We use to have to depend on the CIA to hype the Soviet Union military ability. Now “Next Big Future” does it.
Obligatory:
Hmmm…where is Baba Yaga’s Hut stomping on the ‘NATO tanks’ in that pic?
Russian PR goons sure are slipping, it seems. 🙂
Well now we know who you are.
But, but the OTHER igor said production costs in Russia are far, far less than in the West! That it could build hundreds of thousands of Armatas if Moscow really wanted to!
Hahahahhaha!
War games are paid for by US military that wants to get more money from Congress.
In war games Russian weapons actually work, have numbers and qualities dreamed up by Russian propaganda machine.
The treaties actually say no nucs in space. It is a misconception about not weaponizing space.
In war games all the Russian equipment is perfectly operable and includes items that don’t exist in reality or will not be produced in more than a handful. Also who orders the war games, US military does and of course they don’t want to get more new toys.
There are trolls, then there is reality.
A wise man once said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
So true, worked with what I would call saner Russians, and even then 2 out of 3 were so ego driven they were willing to do whatever it took to prove whatever point they were trying to make in every situation. I would laugh it off or have a go at them with sarcasm, somehow they respected that.
The worst i have ever heard was when a Russian Geologist said this:
“So you have homosexual bars, yes?”
“Whay don’t you just barricade them when at popular times and then set on fire?”
That is word for word.
“The Russian military is a joke outside of their nuclear MAD capability. ”
That’s actually what I find scary about them. They don’t have any options between “low level combat” and “Mutually Assured Destruction”. And they’ve got too much ego to admit it.
The Russian military is a joke outside of their nuclear MAD capability. China could probably whip them conventionally and I would definitely take the NATO nations sans the USA as well in a all-out conventional conflict. Russia just does not have the the numbers. NATO sans the US has a Naval and AF that are 2x Russia. It really is MAD or nothing for Russia and they like to bluff in dumb ways.
I used to work with a bunch of Russians in Mongolia, they were the most predictable poker players ever. I could bluff them and call them on their bluffs every time, they all lacked subtlety. Too technical, not art. All I ever did was drink to the point where I was tipsy but in control, play a sort of a controlled erratic way and stay even for a bit, The second I sold them to think I was drunker than I really was, they would get overconfident and they would lose their shit. I rarely play poker, but against them it was taking candy from a baby. So much ego, you could manipulate them so easily. These were MA and PhD level educated Russians too. You had to be at that level to be on the project.
I see the Anti-Russian trolls are out in force again the in comment section. Yes, keep on piccking on Russia , keep on underestimating Russia. This will make the world a better place…
Crazy Russian pompousness is why the USAF needs to put money into the SpaceX Starship as a orbital bomber. Sure we have treaties for not “weaponizing” space. However, since an ICBM already enters LEO, there is obviously nothing against weapons that can temporarily enter LEO. The SpaceX Starship should provide orbital bomber capability that does not violate the treaty since it is not “stationed” in space if it returns after each run. It would likely be the same or cheaper than a B-2 to operate, in terms of operational cost and ordinance capability.
Given that the majority of the equipment Russia posses is essentially inoperable, the most likely scenario in a conventional conflict between the US and Russia would be more akin to the one Russian military experience against the US, which is getting blown to bits in Syria a year or two ago.
The one time Russian troops fought against the US in the last, forever, they got blown to bits in Syria.
Yea, gotta love how these wargames are always portrayed. As if they are actual combat conditions.
More gear, more to worry about. Best to consider for drone warfare. Drone pick out items with electromagnetic signature on the battle field. Done. Bye bye exosuites.
Armata still has technical problems and is unaffordable for Russia.
Russia has no technology for miniaturized force augmentation and dense power sources, electronics etc. Russian Ivan will just run around in heavy armor.
Why couldn’t they deploy them that fast? The cost here is VERY high, but that is just proffit and insurance costs. Most the suit could be made with 3d printers. The passive ones they have designed are nothing more than springs on a cleaver framework. Once you have a working model to work from building them with automation would be easy. And the turnaround time very fast.
Didn’t they ‘demo’ last year some ‘combat robot’ that turned out to be a guy in a suit?
The only thing I believe is real is the Armata tank. What I don’t think is real is Russia being able to manufacture and field the thousands upon thousands of them like they and several trolls on here claim that they can.
Looks likes the finest vaporware ever.